For the second time in less than four months, indicted South Side Ald. Willie Cochran is scheduled to plead guilty to federal corruption charges.

Cochran, though, backed away in late November from a plea deal that could have given him no prison time on a single fraud charge. A trial had been set for June 30 after that.

Online records posted Tuesday in federal court indicate Cochran apparently has had second thoughts. U.S. District Judge Jorge Alonso scheduled a hearing for the outgoing 20th Ward alderman to plead guilty March 21, the records show.

Cochran, a former Chicago police officer, is accused of shaking down businessmen in exchange for his support on deals in his ward. An FBI affidavit made public in 2016 said Cochran at one point demanded $5,000 from a store owner, writing in a text message, “I need your help, whatever you can do.”

The 15-count indictment also alleges that Cochran stole tens of thousands of dollars in charitable donations to the 20th Ward Activities Fund and spent it on college tuition for his daughter, trips to Indiana casinos, accessories for his Mercedes-Benz and other personal splurges.

After Cochran rejected the earlier plea Nov. 28, his attorney, Christopher Grohman, said Cochran was offered a deal on a single fraud count that gave him a “strong shot” at probation, though sentencing would be up to the judge. Rejecting it is “a big risk,” he acknowledged then.

If he’s found guilty, Cochran would become Chicago’s 30th alderman since 1972 to be convicted of crimes related to official duties. Cochran also could be the third 20th Ward alderman to go to prison, following Clifford Kelley and Arenda Troutman, who was infamously recorded by federal agents saying, “Most politicians are hos.”

Cochran, who was elected in 2007, has continued to serve on the City Council since his indictment in December 2016. A month earlier, after word of the federal probe had gone public, he announced he would not run for a fourth term.

Cochran was charged with 11 counts of wire fraud, two counts of extortion and two counts of bribery. The most serious counts carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted.